sephora

The reason I love speciality beauty stores like Sephora and Ulta is because you can find everything you want in one place. I have the pleasure of living near Fillmore Street in San Francisco, so if you’ve got time to peruse the seven blocks that hold Aesop, Le Labo, Benefit Cosmetics, L’Occitane en Provence, Atelier Cologne, Credo Beauty, MAC, SpaceNK, Kiehl’s, NARS, and Walgreen’s, then you’re basically smack dab in a cosmetic wonderland. When the weekend rolls around I’m usually too lazy to do much of anything, but if I need to get my beauty fix I don’t have far to go. This morning—though it was very tempting—I decided against being a hermit and made my way to Benefit, MAC, and Kiehl’s.

In the last few months, I’ve become beauty-obsessed. I’ve scoured the aisles of Target and Sephora; I’ve scrutinized sites like Into The Gloss, From Roses, and Byrdie; I’ve covered my dresser drawers in moisturizers, lip balms, and highlighters. I’ve learned a lot about the beauty landscape in a short amount of time, and I’ve discovered a bunch of new products that I’d love to write about here. But before I do that, I’m going to share some thoughts on “beauty” with you.

I leave for the Big Island of Hawai’i tomorrow, and in the midst of packing I thought that I’d share a few of my carry on essentials. Though I usually bring my purse and a carry on, it’s always so much easier to just bring one big tote bag and stuff everything you can into it. Other than the obvious purse contents (phone, wallet, keys) here are my “bring it on the plane” basics.